20 Apr 2017

Reds legend John Aldridge has urged one of Liverpool's attacking players to improve certain areas of his game.

In his column for the Liverpool Echo this week, Aldo claimed that Divock Origi still has a long way to go before he can become a first-team regular:

"Divock Origi is doing a lot better holding the ball up now but there are certain parts of his game he still needs improve. He needs to work on his positional sense so he can get hold of the ball and bring others into play".

For me, Origi is a frustrating player. He clearly has all the attributes to be a top-class attacker, but his decision-making in the final third is frequently questionable (enough with the cutting inside and trying to curl the ball into the top corner already!), and as Aldo notes, his positioning can be suspect.

That said, Origi - who is a striker - is regularly played out of position to accommodate Roberto Firmino, and it's clear he's not 100% comfortable in that role.

Origi recently admitted that his confidence had dropped as a result of being constantly dumped on the bench, and in a recent interview, he noted:

"The more I play, the more I can express myself, the more I feel better, and the more I can show myself help the team."

With Liverpool's current injury problems, Origi is getting regular game time, but when everyone is fit next season, and Liverpool have signed a few more players, the Belgian is likely to find himself back to being a bit-part player.

As this season proves, if Mane, Lallana, Firmino, a Coutinho are fit, they play, and that leaves no room for Origi.

* €31m-rated (CIES Football Observatory). Described as 'exceptional' by Owen Hargreaves.